1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin dispensing apparatus capable of dispensing a large number of coins at a high rate, and more particularly, to an improvement in extending the operative life and efficiency of the components used for dispensing the coins.
2. Description of the Related Art
A large number of different forms of coin dispensing apparatus are utilized and have been proposed in the prior art. Such coin dispensing apparatus can be inserted within various devices such as gambling machines, ticket dispensers, coin changers, etc. The terminology “coin” as used in this specification includes not only monetary coins, but medallions, tokens and other objects which can be stored in bulk and selectively dispensed.
Frequently coins are stored in a bulk condition and a coin selector can segregate individual coins, for example, by a rotating disc that can remove coins from a hopper and deliver them to a coin escalator that extends perpendicularly upward from the hopper. The coins are dispensed and are controlled in a one-by-one manner from a coin outlet at the upper end of the coin escalator.
An example of such a structure can be found in the Laid-Open Japanese Patent Application No. 08-293051.
The coins that are moved along the coin escalator are pushed by the subsequent coins until they reach a coin exit position. The prior art has positioned a dispensing body generally to move parallel to the centerline of the coin guiding passageway through the escalator. The dispensing body can be resiliently urged to contact the uppermost coin as it exits from the coin exit of the guiding passageway. Use of such a device, for example, in a gambling machine such as a slot machine can have a large number of coins released relative to any jackpot. As such, the dispensing body is repetitively moved with each individual coin exiting the coin exit. The dispensing body is biased by a force such as a spring force which counters the impact force of the coin. This dispensing body frequently is limited in its travel by a stopper.
The expected life of such devices is frequently over one million coins dispensed. Under these conditions, the dispensing body will be subject to numerous impacts and contacts with stoppers. Additionally, the dispensing body when aligned parallel to the centerline will displaced by a greater amount of movement relative to the size or diameter of the dispensed coin.
With the dispensing body moving parallel to the centerline of the guiding passageway of the coin escalator, the spring force must be large enough to accommodate this displacement and any stoppers that are utilized or guiding walls for the dispensing body must be robust enough to withstand resulting impacts of the dispensing body over the life of the system. In such an arrangement, the dispensing body can receive wear and tear as a result of components of spring force and coin forces distributed through the dispensing body on the structure. Additionally, the resulting forces create resistance to movement which can interfere with a smooth operation in the dispensing of the coins.
With reference to FIG. 8, a coin selector unit 10 can include a support frame 12 which can mount a cylindrical hopper or bowl 16 for storing coins. A first rotating disc 18 can be mounting in a slanting manner at the bottom of the bowl 16 to selectively remove coins from the bowl. A second rotating disc 20 can space the coins and deliver them to the coin guiding unit 22 or coin escalator as seen in FIG. 9. In operation the coins in the hopper can fall through the holes 24 in the rotating disc 18 and be supported on a planer surface of the base 26 so that they can be moved by pins or pushing ribs (not shown). These coins are guided in a peripheral direction of the rotating disc 18 by a guide 28 which can separate the coins for delivery to the second rotating disc 20. The second rotating disc 20 includes 5 arms or projections 30 at equal intervals in a star like configuration. The rotating disc 20 will rotate in synchronous with the first rotating disc 18 in an opposite direction of rotation. The projections 30 will receive the coins from the first rotating disc 18 and move them along an arched guiding surface 32.
A coin gate unit 34 includes a roller member that can move along a guiding groove 36 to selectively permit the passage of the coins and prevent the coins from interfering with the second rotating disc 20. A spring 44 can bias the coin against the guiding surface 32. The coin 14 that can pass through the gate unit will be subsequently guided by the curved guiding section 48 shown in FIG. 8 as the lower part of the coin guiding unit 22. The straight guiding section 50 extends perpendicularly upward to permit the coins 14 to rise to the dispensing section 52. The dispensing section 52 is at the top of the coin escalator and can be seen in a detailed manner in FIG. 10 where a pair of guide holes are parallely spaced on either side of a centerline of the coin escalator. A housing or guiding section 52 includes a base 54 and a pair of spacer plates 56 and 58 which can be fixed on the base 54. The thickness of the spacers are slightly thicker than the coins 14 to be dispensed. The spacers 56 and 58 are laterally spaced to be slightly larger than the diameter of the coin 14. A guide member 16 (shown in dotted lines) is located over the base 54 and opposite the respective spacers 56 and 58. The resulting opening forms the coin guiding passageway 64 in a rectangular cross sectional configuration.
Coins 14 are guided along a straight line by the guiding passageway 62 to arrive at the dispensing section 52. Elongated guiding holes 66 and 68 are capable of supporting a coin dispensing body 70 which will control the exiting of the coins 14. A counting sensor unit (not shown) in FIG. 10 can detect the movement of the dispensing body 70 and can be located at the dispensing section 52.
The respective parallel guiding elongated holes 66 and 68 are located on either side of an extension line of the guiding point passageway 62. Thus, guiding elongated hole 66 is located along a left centerline LC relative to the middle centerline CL which is an extension of the axis of the coin guiding passageway. A guiding edge 74 of the spacer is equidistant from the centerline relative to the left centerline LC.
A second guiding elongated hole 68 is located along the right centerline RC which is on the opposite side and symmetrical with respect to the left centerline LC. The respective guiding hole 66 and 68 are connected with a connecting link groove 71.
The dispensing body 70 can be a roller 78 attached to a shaft 76 that is slidable along either of the guiding elongated holes 66 or 68 depending on which direction the coins are to be dispensed. The shaft 76 is urged toward the guiding passageway 62 by an urging means such as a spring.
When coin 14 is dispensed, coin 14 pushes roller 78 against the urging force of urging means. At this time, roller 78 is positioned off to the side of centerline CL of the guiding passageway 62. Therefore, shaft 76 is pushed towards the side surface of the first elongated hole 66 by a component F2 of force F1 which is received from coin 14. The pushing force F2 is bigger, when the shaft 76 is moved further away from guiding passageway 62 as shown by the dotted line. When center CC of coin 14 moves over the line L which connects between the edge section of spacer 58 and the point of contact between roller 78 and coin 14, coin 14 is dispensed by the urging force of the urging means.
Roller 78 has shaft 76 stopped by the end of first guiding elongated hole 66 when it returns to the initial position, afterwards roller 78 stops the next coin 14. Therefore, roller 78 can control the dispensing of coins. When the coin dispensing device is used in a gaming machine, coin 14 is continuously dispensed at a predetermined quantity at relatively high speed. As a result, the total dispensing quantity over an expected service life is over 1 million coins. Therefore, shaft 76 will run to the end of the first elongated hole 66 frequently. As a result, the end of the first elongated hole 66 can suffer a permanent set in fatigue, in other words, a projection can be created which projects towards the side. Therefore, the movement of dispensing body 70 becomes un-smooth and the dispensing of the coins isn't desirable.
For preventing a permanent deformation set, it may be possible to install a hard material at the end of guiding elongated hole 66, however this can be expensive. Also, the large sliding resistance which occurs between shaft 76 and a side surface of the first elongated hole 66 can disturb the smooth movement of dispensing body 70. Therefore, the dispensing of coins becomes undesirable.
In a coin let-off unit, the diameter of coin is changed sometimes. By this, the quantity of the coin which is located at the passageway between the second rotating disk 20 and the dispensing body 70 is also changeable. Therefore, coin dispensing body 70 will have to change its position continuously and may be un-detectable by the sensor. In detail, the length of the straight guiding section 50 is adjusted. As a result, the adjustment can be troublesome. Accordingly, there is a need in this field to improve the performance and endurance of coin dispensing components.